Dallas (1080 KRLD)- FC Dallas opens its 2021 season Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. The club hosts the Colorado Rapids at 7 p.m.
"I'm just glad to be back at it," says FC Dallas President Dan Hunt. "The players are so excited."
Toyota Stadium will open at 50% capacity for at least the first four matches. Up to 9,000 people will be able to attend Saturday's game, which is sold out.
"We are very cognizant of fan safety, player safety and staff safety," Hunt says.
"It's just a mindful balance."
For each ticket sold, Hunt says a second ticket will be removed from availability. Tickets are being sold in "pods" to ensure groups of people will have empty seats in between. Fans will be spread out through the entire stadium.
"When we built the stadium with my dad, Lamar, one of the things he was most proud of was there was not a bad seat in the entire stadium," Hunt says.
"You're close to the pitch. It's really a pleasant experience."
Fans will be required to wear masks as part of MLS guidelines. Hunt says FC Dallas will continue to monitor guidelines from MLS as well as state and local health officials and could adjust rules and capacity limits later in the season.
"We're glad to be pushing forward and moving ahead," he says.
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Last season, FC Dallas advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals, losing to the Seattle Sounders. This year, Hunt says the team expects to be competitive again.
"I'm excited for this team. 2021 could be a great moment for this club," he says.
"The team reminds me, in a lot of ways, of our 2016 team that was successful and won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, they won the Supporters' Shield. If not for the [Mauro] Diaz injury, I think they win the MLS Cup."
Hunt says FC Dallas has established players, including Matt Hedges and Ryan Hollingshead, but the team has also acquired players who have been in other countries, including Freddy Vargas from Venezuela, Jose Martinez from Spain and Hungarian Szabolcs Schön.
"These guys have great pedigrees," Hunt says.
In addition, he says a "great coaching staff" will lead the team and help unite established players with those coming from other clubs.
"The great thing about Luchi [Gonzalez], our head coach, is he's not just a teacher. He's a such student of the game," Hunt says. "He's constantly learning, and I think he embodies it well and tries to instill that in the players who are here."
Hunt says he expects demand to stay high after the opener, saying he believes each of the first four games will likely be sellouts.